Also on my 'to visit' list.
Tourists seem to attract pickpockets, and Barcelona seems to suffer a fair bit in this respect. Some friends of ours went last year and at one point were surrounded by Eastern European kids with the mother seeming to be marshal the attack, nothing was safe and the recommendation for women was not to carry handbags, and think twice about carrying a camera hung around your kneck.

Yes, Bacelona is a beautiful city. We have friends who live about 30 miles away so have been there a few times. As mentioned above, the crime rate can be quite bad there now, especially from pickpockets and chance thieves, so anyone who visits there should be aware at all times. Wallets and other small valuable items should be in zipped pockets and even then keep a close eye on your stuff especially in crowed areas like LA Ramblas, and never leave bags or rucksacks on the back of chairs in cafes and restaurants.. We usually wrap the carry straps 'round our ankles and keep them on the floor where we can see them

Some other friends of ours were over there a couple of years ago in 2011 with their two young sons. They were all getting on a train in the underground when from the corner of his eye my mate noticed a hand slipping into his wife's bag, he didn't think and just punched the face that the belonged the hand - he's a very big lad and packs a fair punch. He was mortified when he realised he'd laid out a woman who was now lying on the platform, and she appeared to be pregnant! A crowd gathered of course but everyone started shouting and screaming at the woman, someone even kicked her!

It turned out she was part of a gang which included a lot of young kids and the "pregnancy" was a pillow pushed up her shirt, which one of the bystanders had pulled out and showed to everyone. Apparenty they'd been at it for some but never been caught and had stolen off hundreds of regular travellers over a long period of time. The police were called and she was arrested and taken away. She wasn't Spanish by the way.

I have heard there are similar problems in parts of "tourist" France - Annecy being particularly bad, which is a great shame because these are beautiful places.

Barcelona is a great city loaded of history, monuments and photographic themes. I really enjoyed my visit around 2008-2009. I also appreciated food.
While on subway I was looking at the map and I was talking to my wife. I felt the place was crowed but naive as I am (or was), I didn't pay attention. Suddenly a security officer ran towards me while shouting. The crowd disappeared and officer explained to me that a gang surrounded me trying steal from my back pack. I learned my lesson from that point and I was very suspicious about who was next to me.
A few weeks later, back home, I had a call from my bank. They informed me my credit card was canceled for security reasons. They explained that some guy stolen credit card info from the hotel we stayed at.
Even so, I would love to go back at Barcelona. A really extraordinary place!

Nice Photos, It is a lovely city I have visted twice, and will no doubt vist again. I have not had any problems, but always kept wallet in a ziped pocket usually in the inside pocket of my jacket zipped up or in trousers that have a zipped pocket camera bag across both shoulders and arm rested along the top when walking around. when in eating put the camera bag between my legs and strap around the chair leg or mine. In the hotel room keep stuff lock in the suitcase. This is general pravctice where ever I go no matter which country.